Hey! Manchester promotes gigs by folk, Americana and experimental bands from around the world in Manchester, England. Read more here, see below for our latest shows, check out our previous shows, contact us, or join our mailing list, above.

Upcoming shows: Coruja Jones... Good News... Myriam Gendron... Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra... Tropical Fuck Storm... Kris Drever... Erland Cooper... Pokey LaFarge... Admiral Fallow... Skinny Lister... New Starts... The Sheepdogs... The Dead Tongues... Svaneborg Kardyb... Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres + James Heather... The Unthanks in Winter... Jim Moray... Josh Rouse... John Craigie... Emily Barker... Gratis: Sophie Jamieson... C Duncan... Dustin O’Halloran... Chuck Prophet... The Ocelots... Sean Rowe... Fionn Regan... The Weather Station... Beans on Toast... Joshua Burnside... The Loft... Martin Kohlstedt... Nadia Reid... Danny & the Champions of the World... The Delines... Chris Brain... Heather Nova... Mark Eitzel... Hayden Thorpe & Propellor Ensemble... Jerron Paxton...

When: 7.30pm on Wednesday 8 October 2014
Where: Kraak, off Stevenson Square, Manchester M1 1DB

We’re excited to be working with Sara Lowes once again.

Sara Lowes at the Castle, Manchester

Some artists are singers; others add songwriter to their resume. Others, like Sara Lowes, are something far beyond either simple category: aural visionaries – who are as much about scoring, production and arranging as they are about singing their own tunes.

She’s always been a woman in demand; however these days, Manchester-based songwriter and musician Sara Lowes is dictating that adoration on her own sweet terms. A long-established session musician, Sara’s talents have crossed many a musical path playing for bands and artists such as The Earlies, King Creosote, Daniel Johnston and Marina And The Diamonds, to name but a few.

Garnering comparisons to the sass of Debbie Harry and the airy vocals of Alison Goldfrapp, Lowes’ songs bubble with everything from the primordial soup of Technicolor pop to acoustic folk, through jazz, and kaleidoscopic prog. Lowes is an artist plying her craft for the long-haul, clearly harbouring ambitions of a different kind.

‘I’ve alway seen myself as a musician rather than a solo artists of any kind,’ says Lowes. ‘It leaves the door open for anything to happen – therefore my ambition grows naturally and I trust the choices I make.’

A favourite among BBC 6 Music DJs such as Marc Riley and Stuart Maconie, Lowes’ solo releases to date have received rave reviews from the press, noting her skill for fusing classic influences through thoroughly modern composition and production, emerging as a true genre-defying talent and one to watch.

‘With a voice somewhere between Alison Goldfrapp and Joni Mitchell, and songs that veer between folk, Brill Building pop and Dexys Midnight Runners-esque soul, Sara Lowes is a curious proposition’ – Q, 4*

Support comes from Plank. Made up of guitarist and synth player Dave Rowe, bassist Edward Troup and drummer, Liam Stewart, the band focus on an electronically expressive sound borne out of a respect to the likes of 70s Krautrock pioneers Neu!, Cluster and Harmonia, alongside more wilfully expansive rock and mind bending electronics.

Kraak is a performance and exhibition space in the Northern Quarter. It’s down a cobbled street, just behind Fit To Dance off Stevenson Square.

Buy tickets now. Tickets are available from Common (no booking fee), Piccadilly Records, Vinyl Exchange, Seetickets.comWeGotTickets.comTicketline.co.uk and on 0871 220 0260.

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All shows are 18+ unless otherwise stated.